When Will We Know The Truth About Biogen?

Make a comment

carl-icahnThat’s what Carl Icahn is asking about Biogen Idec as he raises the volume in his increasingly messy proxy war to take control of the independent-minded biotech. And in his latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the infamous raider disagrees that Biogen’s own latest filing about its failed sales process last year is inconsistent with public statements made by Biogen execs.

That failed attempt at a sale, by the way, came after Icahn pushed Biogen to put itself on the auction block, although Biogen management wasn’t really interested in the idea. Since then, Icahn refuses to take no for an answer and is trying to install his own slate of directors. The effort, though, is taking a nasty turn. For instance, he writes this in his SEC filing that “…these documents show that a number of the statements made by Biogen during this proxy contest are untrue.”

In particular, Icahn is incensed that Biogen apparently made it difficult for prospective bidders to conduct due diligence last fall and claims Biogen’s own documents show that “at least one bidder asked to talk to Elan (a key Biogen partner in a big-selling MS drug) before they submitted a firm and binding offer. The documents do not indicate whether the bidder was permitted to speak with Elan, but do indicate that the bidder walked away from the process.”

Biogen “completely disagrees with his allegations,” a spokeswoman tells Reuters. The documents “confirm what we said all along, which was that the process was professional, thorough, objective.”

As of 2 pm EST, Biogen stock is up about 3.4 percent.

Jump to comments

Share

Comments are closed.

Subscribe

RSS Feed

Comments feed for this post only.

Clear

Clear

© 2007- 2008 Newark Morning Ledger Co.  All Rights Reserved.

Thanks for trying out the new Pharmalot printing tools. If you're got any suggestions for how we can help you print better, please let us know by clicking on the contact link at http://www.pharmalot.com/